Tag Archives: Notes

I’ve been working very hard on new pages (41 through 95) of The Poet and the Flea for the past few months! I’ve completed the first few steps on pgs. 41 through 71 and completed inking pgs. 41 through 48. I haven’t started shading any of the new pages, but I’m hoping to start very soon.

I’m almost done inking an one-page comic entitled Strange But True to submit to a local newspaper. I really like how it’s turning out so far, and I’m hoping they’ll accept my submission! And maybe I’ll do more pages of Strange But True down the line…

I’m supposed to hear this Wednesday whether or not I’ve been hired for a somewhat big freelance illustration project for a non-profit related book. I was hired to create a proposal for the book and they seem to be very excited about what I put together. Fingers crossed!🙂

According to director Mary Lachapelle, Death Is No Bad Friend made it to the top 20 of the Roy W. Dean Grant. Unfortunately, we were not grant winners, but they seem to want to still give us some kind of assistance for the film. Plus, we now know we’re headed in the right direction for other grants we’re planning on applying to. Everything’s coming together!

Last week, I registered for the “Publication Design w/In Design” course at our local community college. I took a few classes there during high school and found them very beneficial. So I look forward to adding In Design to my list of skills.

I’ve begun working on the applications for two summer programs specializing in publishing. They aren’t due until early next year, but I’d like to get them out of the way ASAP. They sound like absolutely amazing programs and, if I don’t get into them this time around, I’m planning on reapplying next year. We’ll see what happens!

I’ve been doing some research and making some notes for my (not-so-distant) future publishing company Radiant Pessimist Press. It’s only bare bones for now, but you can check out my new blog: radiantpessimist.wordpress.com.

Yesterday, I finally was able to clean and organize my studio. Can’t wait to get back to work!

My main goal this week is to really sit down and concentrate on preparing for my talk at Yale University School of Drama. Also, I made an appointment with the Yale Center for British Art’s study room to examine a sampling of their incredible collection of original William Blake prints. I can’t wait!

Saturday, March 15th: Today’s Met Opera simulcast of Massenet’s Werther was beyond words! I read Goethe’s novel a few years back and found it very interesting. But the opera really brings the tragedy to a whole new level. And Jonas Kaufmann’s performance was absolutely captivating.🙂

Wednesday, March 19th: Wonderful Skype call with Jacqueline, DP of Death Is No Bad Friend. We bounced some really interesting ideas back and forth. And I look forward to further developing these ideas with her and director Mary.

Thursday, March 20th: I’ve been watching opera on YouTube and I just have to say that Verdi’s Don Carlos is one of the strangest operas I’ve encountered. Don Carlos falls in love with the woman who then becomes his stepmother, the Spanish Inquisition is running around causing trouble, and at the end Don Carlos is dragged down to hell by his dead grandpa to end his suffering… What!?

Saturday, March 22nd: Worked on new pages of graphic novel The First Reich.

Sunday, March 23rd: I had an amazing time watching The Grand Budapest Hotel! Wes Anderson is brilliant and Ralph Fiennes is one of my all-time favorite actors. And the whole ensemble was amazing — Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody, Jeff Goldblum, etc. I can’t wait to see it again!😀

Ralph Fiennes in The Grand Budapest Hotel. Disclaimer: I do not own this image!!

Monday, March 24th: Putting together some more Death Is No Bad Friend pre-production notes. Also, was in the mood to write a little prose tonight.

Zest Books Internship, Day #20: Worked mostly on mailing today… I think I put together over 60 packages. Wrote a blog post for the Zest Books official blog about upcoming titles Little Fish and Super Pop! with an accompanying illustration — can’t wait to see this go up online!

Thursday, April 11th

Ran some errands and worked on some preparation for the Cannes/London trip.

Elias’s 1st birthday party! Bit of a strange day… Wes and I went to Gabe’s house to celebrate his son’s first birthday.🙂 Unfortunately, we didn’t actually get to see Gabe since he had to take his father to the hospital for a broken leg. Later, Wes and I went to The Ice Cream Bar since it was so hot outside and we needed to cool off. Then, we ended up eating at Sunflower Vietnamese for dinner and later had dessert with my folks and Nikki the shiba inu.

Family Bonding Day! This is the last weekend before I leave for Cannes/London, so spent time with the folks. Ate lunch at a great Puerto Rican restaurant. Finally got to see Girl with a Pearl Earring and Rembrandt’s Century at the de Young.

Sunday, May 5th

Date with Wes! Went to see Iron Man 3, which really wasn’t as bad as I was expecting.🙂 Ate tasty Japanese dinner at Sanraku. Hopefully will see Wes one more time before I leave!

Monday, May 6th

New suitcase arrived in the mail.

Finalizing Cannes/London trip plans.

Continued correspondence with a recruiter for a potential job.

Worked on some upcoming blog posts.

Tuesday, May 7th

Ran some errands for the Cannes/London trip.

Finalizing Cannes/London trip plans.

Working on Blake Society talk!

Wednesday, May 8th

Ran some errands for the Cannes/London trip.

E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!

Finalizing Cannes/London trip plans.

Working on Blake Society talk!

Jotted down some more ideas for a future screenplay.

Dinner with Wes!🙂

Thursday, May 9th

E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!

Finishing up odds and ends of Cannes/London travel arrangements.

Packing for trip!!

Worked on some upcoming blog posts.

Friday, May 10th

E-mails, e-mails, e-mails…!

Finishing up odds and ends of Cannes/London travel arrangements.

PACKING!!!

Saturday, May 11th

Finishing up odds and ends of Cannes/London travel arrangements.

Flight leaves San Francisco at 7:05 p.m. Will arrive in Nice, France at 6:10 p.m.😀

Etcetera

The Poet and the Flea: 63 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-30 completed, and 31-36 in progress) of illustrated work.

Spoke with my high school friend Tina L. about SPX (Small Press Expo) in Maryland. We (Tina, some of her friends, and I) are going to try to get a table there this September! Also, Tina may share a table with me for this year’s APE!

Wednesday, February 20th

Zest Books Internship, Day #7: Super busy with some editing/fact-checking work! Also, sat in on a Teen Advisory Board meeting, which was interesting. Going in again tomorrow instead of Friday to sit in on a meeting and meet a tight deadline!

Thursday, February 21st

Sent Hannah some follow-up answers.

Zest Books Internship, Day #8: Came in Thursday instead of Friday. Managed to complete a big project before the deadline. Finally met Dan in person (had only talked on phone before). Going to help Hallie with a photoshop project on Wednesday. Busy, busy, busy!

First skype meeting with film director Josh! He’s interested in my short script The Man Who Never Smiled. Soon, he’ll be scouting locations and creating a shot list. Wants me to write detailed notes about the script and eventually create a simple storyboard. Set filming date for July. Extremely excited!!!

Passover trip — had Passover and stayed overnight at cousin’s house outside of Sacramento. Would be perfect location for filming Death Is No Bad Friend.

Received e-mail from local production company. Interview scheduled for April 11th!

Tuesday, March 26th

Return drive from Passover trip.

Wednesday, March 27th

Zest Books Internship, Day #16: Worked on image research and fact checking! Fact checking is definitely one of my strong suits — I have so much random knowledge stuffed away in my brain that I can immediately sense when something is off.🙂

Beautiful but deadly pollen!

Thursday, March 28th

Interview with potential job unsuccessful, but that’s fine by me. Looking forward to next interview on the 11th!

Today, did some research about various production companies on IMDbPro.

Worked on inquiry letters. Dropped one in the mailbox and will be sending out a few more soon!

Thursday, September 27th

Continuing work on The Flea.

Went on a date with Wes to the California Academy of Science: Nightlife at the Academy. Saw some amazing sights (jellyfish, baby ostriches, etc.) and had a wonderful time with Wes.

Friday, September 28th

Today, met with Gabe and his friend, Masa — a film director. They asked me to collaborate with them on a screenplay called The Blanks. The concept is really interesting and I feel that I can use my expertise to really flesh out the characters and story. But I think I have to discuss everything further with Gabe and Masa to figure out exactly what they want.

Discussed children’s book further with Gabe. Scheduled next meeting for Friday, October 12th.

Watched the short film and read the short script that Gabe and Masa want me to collaborate on in order to expand it to feature length. Brainstorming ideas!

Reworked my résumé since it needed some updating.

Saturday, September 29th

Worked on opening scene and ideas/notes for The Blanks. Sent to Gabe for feedback.

Sunday, September 30th

Today, scanned all completed pages of The Poet and the Flea!!!

Working on cropping scanned pages of The Flea and adding to draft posts on WordPress.

★ Goals for the coming days…

Draft character designs for Gabe’s children’s book.

Sketch out cover and first 2 pages of The First Reich. Schedule next meeting with Shannon.

Close out GoFundMe.com campaign and launch IndieGoGo.com campaign.

Monday, October 1st

Disclaimer: I do not own this photograph!!

Happy Birthday, Laurence Harvey! If he hadn’t died of stomach cancer at the age of 45, he would have been 84 today. (Well, at least Larry’s on-screen mom Angela Lansbury is still kicking!)

Tonight, was supposed to attend the h. Naoto Designer Event with Wes, but had to cancel date due to stomach flu. (´Ａ｀。)

E-mail correspondence with Gabe.

Working on design for The Poet and the Flea postcards through Vistaprint in preparation for APE (Alternative Press Expo).

Tuesday, October 2nd

[Still sick… (✖╭╮✖)]

Happy Birthday, Mom! My family will be celebrating her birthday and mine (Oct. 19) together later this month. 〜(^▽^〜)

E-mail correspondence with Gabe.

Completed design for The Poet and the Flea postcards and ordered through Vistaprint.

Happy Birthday, Tetsuya, beloved leader and bassist of Japanese band L’Arc-en-Ciel!! You and the band have been going strong for 20 years now, and your fans can’t wait for more. (´∀｀)♡ [Watch “In the Air” from 20th Anniversary Live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by3axL-3gjM]

Working on adding scanned pages of The Flea to draft posts on WordPress.

Thursday, October 4th

Disclaimer: I do not own this image!!

Happy Birthday, Jeremy Blake! This talented American artist would have been 41 today if he had not taken his life after the death of his long-term girlfriend Theresa Duncan. Read more about Blake and Duncan here!

Working on making plans for APE (Alternative Press Expo).

Working on character sketches for Gabe.

Etcetera

The Poet and the Flea: 47 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-24, 27-30 completed, and 25-26, 31-36 in progress) of illustrated work.

Yesterday, received e-mail from Shannon. She has finished the entire first draft of our graphic novel collaboration entitled The First Reich!!! After she does some editing, she’ll be sending me a copy to read — I can’t wait… ヽ(；▽；)ノ

Saturday, August 25th

Taking a little break…

Sunday, August 26th

Continuing work on The Flea and The Man…

Received e-mail from a writer interested in collaborating on a children’s book. In the process of scheduling a meeting.

Two more Pixel-Flick Alliance meetings have been scheduled — one on September 15th and the other on the 22nd.

Monday, August 27th

Continuing work on The Flea and The Man…

After some correspondence, have scheduled a meeting with J.R. (jrbiche.wordpress.com) to further discuss his potential web series. Meeting on Monday, September 10th.

Tuesday, August 28th

Continuing work on The Flea and The Man…

Wednesday, August 29th

Continuing work on The Flea and The Man…

For Robert Louis Stevenson research, began reading The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

E-mail correspondence with potential production company about The Man Who Never Smiled.

E-mail correspondence with potential director/producer for Robots Are a Girl’s Best Friend.

E-mail correspondence with Brian (Pixel Flick Entertainment). Brian became the new organizer for the meetup.com group “San Francisco Movie Makers,” hoping to get more people interested in the Alliance. Would love to see the Alliance grow!

Did not make it to the next round of The Austin Film Festival Screenplay Contest. As I said before, I just have to keep doing what I’m doing. There are still about 5 more I’m waiting to hear back from. Anything could happen!

Friday, August 31st

Working on the script for The Poet and the Flea!

E-mail correspondence with potential production company about The Man Who Never Smiled.

Saturday, September 1st – Sunday, September 2nd

Taking a little break…

Continuing to read Jekyll and Hyde — it’s incredibly different from any adaptation I have come across. Fascinating!

Bought a JPLT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) N1 textbook from Kinokuniya. Started reviewing the material, and believe it was money well spent. Not sure if I’ll actually take the test, but would be a nice addition to my résumé. If I decide to apply to The JET Programme as a CIR (Coordinator for International Relations), would be very helpful!

JLPT N1 Textbook!!

Monday, September 3rd

Continuing work on The Flea…

Shannon sent me the entire draft of our graphic novel collaboration, The First Reich. In the process of reading and taking lots of notes. Project will require much period fashion/settings research, but is a welcome challenge!

Tuesday, September 4th

Today, I found out some exciting news. I hadn’t realized that anything was announced since I received no e-mail. But I checked the Kaos Films website, and lo and behold. My screenplay Death Is No Bad Friend is one of 292 qualifiers (semi-finalists) in the Kaos Films British Short Screenplay Competition 2012. (This means my script will most likely be read by judge Sir Kenneth Branagh!!) The finalists should be announced sometime around January. Awesome!

Continuing work on The Flea and The First Reich.

E-mail correspondence with potential director/producer for Robots Are a Girl’s Best Friend.

Finished reading The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I think it was a good experience. Next, thinking of reading The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells.

By the way, I’ve just developed a new, little obsession with bats. Just look at their faces below!! (゜▽゜;) Perhaps I’ll eventually develop a comic or children’s book with a protagonist named “Fluffernutter the Bat”™?

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these bat photographs!!

Etcetera

The Poet and the Flea: 45 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-18, 21-23, 27-30 completed, and 19-20, 24-26, 31-36 in progress) of illustrated work.

To Do:

Meeting with writer for children’s book on Monday, September 10th (noon).